A slaughterhouse across the street (memorial for the poor lost souls...)

[Kirsten]

Don't look away!
for my heart
is full of grief
for all these innocent
and lost little souls.
I can hear them crying,
and through the open window
now comes
the foul smell of death
on the wings of a
soft summer breeze...

The new slaughterhouse very close to the office where I'm working has now opened its gates. As it's a Turkish slaughterhouse, mosty sheeps will loose their lives there, and the first victims did arrive today... It's a terrible sight now when I look outside my window, it's really an offense, and makes my heart ache.

And just in case you may ask: Yes, I'm a veggie!

Kirsten

[lizbud]

I for one, could not stand to work anywhere near it. Sorry, but
that's just me.


The picture is very ominous looking.

[Cataholic]

It breaks my heart, and it is the reason I am a veggie.

[Kirsten]

I'm a veggie, too, and I cannot stand working near it, either. Ther lines above came to me while I sat on my desk today, mourning the poor creatures that stepped through the gate. And I created the picture this evening when I came home from work. The building you see IS the actual slaughterhouse.

Kirsten

[Laura's Babies]

Kristen, that gave me full body CHILLS! That picture is one of the BEST you have ever done, it makes a BIG impact on the ones who see it and what you wrote is just plain sad! Put them together and that equals CHILLS!

[moosmom]

Beautiful picture!! When you said that it is the actual slaughterhouse, I got this eerie feeling and an ache in my heart.

Those poor animals!!

[Kirsten]

it makes a BIG impact on the ones who see it

Well, I hope it does. I will post it on my website later, and also in my myspace blog, along with the lines I wrote.

When you said that it is the actual slaughterhouse, I got this eerie feeling and an ache in my heart.

I feel the same when I look at it (and I see it every day when I look outside my office window). It is a new building, and it looks so innocent with its white walls, and yet it brings death, torture and pain to many creatures. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if it's getting struck by a lightning, or burn down...

Kirsten

[Kalei]

Wow that is so sad. I can see how you are going to have a hard time working for quite awhile with that terrible building just across the feild its so sad to know what will be going on in there, those poor animals who only want to live a happy life I hope that maybe somehow someday something could happen to it to make it close down.

And that picture you made is so powerful. Show it to many people and cherish it for it gives off such great meaning.

[popcornbird]

First of all, I think you are very talented in your photography and image editing skills, and that picture you worked on is absolutely amazing...Thank you for sharing it with us.

However, I have to say that, though I respect your feelings, people have always eaten meat, and probably always will...and most of the meat we eat comes from animals killed in slaughterhouses. I understand you're veggie, and that is your choice and should be respected, however, I don't believe people who choose to eat meat are doing anything wrong at all, and shouldn't be made to feel that way.

I don't know what sort of slaughterhouse this is, but I do know there are those where animals are killed in very inhumane ways... ... (and I am strongly against such slaughterhouses). At the same time, there are others that provide the animals with open green pastures to graze in freely, and kill them as humanely as possible, when it is their time.

For animal lovers, it is hard to witness such a place, so close to home, but it is reality, and throughout the world, people eat meat, animals eat meat, many of our pets eat meat. Its just how things are. I myself LOVE sheep, and would love to have one as a pet (though it is highly unlikely that will ever happen), but I do eat sheep meat at the same time, and see no reason to consider it 'wrong'.

Again, I respect your feelings, and the feelings that led you to make this picture. It truly shows your soft spot for animals. I just wanted to say that, just because it is a slaughterhouse, doesn't make it an 'evil' place. Someone out there has to do it to get food for people, and for our pets that NEED meat to survive. I do understand that it aches your heart though.

I don't intend to 'start' anything. Just wanted to share my feelings on this.

[Kirsten]

popcornbird, I can see your point, and I would never blame anyone for eating meat. I know that mankind has always done that, but I think I could accept this better if men were still hunters, as they were in ancient times. To breed animals only as "meat products", to never give them a chance for a dignified life is a cruel and unnatural act IMO.

My sister, who is also a veggie, made an interesting statement the other day. She said anyone who is eating meat should once in his life slaughter a living animal, and eat it. That way, they would learn what it really means. It's so much different from buying the nice looking packages in the supermarket which don't have much in common with the living being they once were.

I know that people will always eat meat, and there will always be such things as slaughterhouses, but it's hard for me to see one in front of my very nose. I always had a deep love and sympathy for animals, and it is hard for me to see any harm being done to them. This morning, when I drove to work, I got teary -eyed over a road kill, a beautiful raccoon lying on the street, with his mouth wide open from his last cry of pain... I cannot stand things like that.

But again, even though I made the personal decision for myself not to eat any more meat, I wouldn't blame anyone for doing so, and even I do not stick to my own principles when it comes to my cats! For them, I buy meat in cans!

In fact, I often wonder if it's ethically correct for a veggie to have carnivore pets... But I can't help it, I just love cats too much!

Kirsten

[AvaJoy]

Oh, Kirsten . . . how awful to have such a dreadful place near your office. As if we vegetarians (or anyone, for that matter) need an everyday reminder of the horrors these poor creatures endure.

Your tribute was touching and beautiful.

I, too, get upset when I see roadkill. The other day on my way home from work I hit a squirrel and cried my apologies the rest of the way home.

[lizbud]

My sister, who is also a veggie, made an interesting statement the other day. She said anyone who is eating meat should once in his life slaughter a living animal, and eat it. That way, they would learn what it really means. It's so much different from buying the nice looking packages in the supermarket which don't have much in common with the living being they once were.

I know that people will always eat meat, and there will always be such things as slaughterhouses, but it's hard for me to see one in front of my very nose. I always had a deep love and sympathy for animals, and it is hard for me to see any harm being done to them. This morning, when I drove to work, I got teary -eyed over a road kill, a beautiful raccoon lying on the street, with his mouth wide open from his last cry of pain... I cannot stand things like that.

Kirsten

I agree with you Kirsten, I feel the same way.

I am a meat eater & so are my animals but that doesn't mean that the
food we eat shouldn't have a good, painfree life & when they do die it MUST
be in the most humane way possible always.

[Hellow]

First of all, I think you are very talented in your photography and image editing skills, and that picture you worked on is absolutely amazing...Thank you for sharing it with us.

However, I have to say that, though I respect your feelings, people have always eaten meat, and probably always will...and most of the meat we eat comes from animals killed in slaughterhouses. I understand you're veggie, and that is your choice and should be respected, however, I don't believe people who choose to eat meat are doing anything wrong at all, and shouldn't be made to feel that way.

I don't know what sort of slaughterhouse this is, but I do know there are those where animals are killed in very inhumane ways... ... (and I am strongly against such slaughterhouses). At the same time, there are others that provide the animals with open green pastures to graze in freely, and kill them as humanely as possible, when it is their time.

For animal lovers, it is hard to witness such a place, so close to home, but it is reality, and throughout the world, people eat meat, animals eat meat, many of our pets eat meat. Its just how things are. I myself LOVE sheep, and would love to have one as a pet (though it is highly unlikely that will ever happen), but I do eat sheep meat at the same time, and see no reason to consider it 'wrong'.

Again, I respect your feelings, and the feelings that led you to make this picture. It truly shows your soft spot for animals. I just wanted to say that, just because it is a slaughterhouse, doesn't make it an 'evil' place. Someone out there has to do it to get food for people, and for our pets that NEED meat to survive. I do understand that it aches your heart though.

I don't intend to 'start' anything. Just wanted to share my feelings on this.

Everything said there and that i am a meat eater.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Okay, coming from the point of once being a veggie.. I understand both points PCB and Kirsten made.

Anyways, just wanted to say, that is a very touching tribute and the photo is absolutely stunning.

[king2005]

popcornbird, I can see your point, and I would never blame anyone for eating meat. I know that mankind has always done that, but I think I could accept this better if men were still hunters, as they were in ancient times. To breed animals only as "meat products", to never give them a chance for a dignified life is a cruel and unnatural act IMO.

The reason a lot of people don't hunter anymore, is because of all the animal lovers or veggie eatters attacking them about how bad it is to hunt... hunters have to jump through so many retarded hoops, that its not worth it anymore... Now look at the derr population,, its out of control & thousands are getting hit by cars & starving to death.. I have gone hunting(never got anything) & fishing.. but its not easy hunting when being bashed.

My sister, who is also a veggie, made an interesting statement the other day. She said anyone who is eating meat should once in his life slaughter a living animal, and eat it. That way, they would learn what it really means. It's so much different from buying the nice looking packages in the supermarket which don't have much in common with the living being they once were.

I've never eatten my kills, but I have cooked them for others(I'm talking about fish)... When I bred rats for a healthy diet for my rat eatting pets, I killed many of them.. When my pets were babies, I had to prepare the rats/mice, as they were too large.. its was gross, but my animals had to eat.

I know that people will always eat meat, and there will always be such things as slaughterhouses, but it's hard for me to see one in front of my very nose. I always had a deep love and sympathy for animals, and it is hard for me to see any harm being done to them. This morning, when I drove to work, I got teary -eyed over a road kill, a beautiful raccoon lying on the street, with his mouth wide open from his last cry of pain... I cannot stand things like that.

Neither can I.. I & many other people almost cried over a young deer that was hit 2 cars ahead of us.. we stopped to see if the other car was ok... we watched the deer squirm on the road while gurgling blood.. THAT is why we support hunting so bad.

But again, even though I made the personal decision for myself not to eat any more meat, I wouldn't blame anyone for doing so, and even I do not stick to my own principles when it comes to my cats! For them, I buy meat in cans!

In fact, I often wonder if it's ethically correct for a veggie to have carnivore pets... But I can't help it, I just love cats too much!

Kirsten

Your the type of veggie I have total respect for, you don't push your ways onto others, & you don't hate meat eaters like me.